Movies are NOT the real world: Buster Keaton Solves that Case

Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. is, on its surface, a fantastical slapstick piece,

designed to amuse and bemuse. There’s a great rhythm to it and an ingenuity that

weaves its way through the entire movie. Once you begin to look deeper, the real

intelligence that lies behind the film starts to shine through. Keaton’s mastery of

special effects is in the spotlight in this movie within a movie. Keaton manipulates

dimensions, using safes as entrances into other locations and a movie screen as a

fluid portal between the real and the reel.

The story itself is easy to follow, especially as similar circumstances play out

in two worlds, so if you missed it the first time you just have to check out the movie

within a movie to get on board. Personally, I’m rarely a fan of silent films; I find

they’re overacted and not particularly to my liking. However, Sherlock Jr. managed

to surprise me. It was quick and clever and Keaton’s famously stoic face balanced

out the potentially overwrought caricatures that silent film can sometimes produce.

Creativity and self – awareness allowed this movie to parody the melodramas of its

day and create a witty, charming, and surprisingly thought-provoking film.